Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles

Imagine the twisted evil twins of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson and you have the dangerous duo of Professor James Moriarty - wily, snake-like, fiercely intelligent, terrifyingly unpredictable - and Colonel Sebastian Basher Moran - violent, politically incorrect, debauched. Together they run London crime, owning police and criminals alike. When a certain Irene Adler turns up on their doorstep with a proposition, neither man is able to resist.

By Gaslight: A Novel

By Gaslight is a deeply atmospheric, haunting audiobook about the unending quest that has shaped a man's life. William Pinkerton is already famous, the son of the most notorious detective of all time, when he descends into the underworld of Victorian London in pursuit of a new lead on the fabled con Edward Shade. William's father died without ever finding Shade, but William is determined to drag the thief out of the shadows.

Angels of Music

Deep in the shadows under the Paris Opera House resides Erik the Phantom, mysteriously enduring through the decades as the mastermind behind a strange and secret agency. A revolving door of female agents are charged by wealthy Parisians and the French government to investigate crimes and misdemeanours they would prefer to keep out of the public eye.

Year One: A Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter Collection

There are things in this world that men and women aren't meant to understand. We aren't supposed to know these things exist, much less how to fight them. The things that go bump in the night, the monsters in the closet, the shadow out of the corner of your eye - that's where I live.

Lovecraft's Monsters

Prepare to meet the wicked progeny of the master of modern horror. In Lovecraft's Monsters, H. P. Lovecraft's most famous creations--Cthulhu, Shoggoths, Deep Ones, Elder Things, Yog-Sothoth, and more--appear in all their terrifying glory. Each story is a gripping new take on a classic Lovecraftian creature. Contributors include such literary luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Karl Edward Wagner, Elizabeth Bear, and Nick Mamatas.

Who Killed Sherlock Holmes?: The Shadow Police, Book Three

The ghost of Sherlock Holmes is dead, but who will solve his murder? The Great Detective's ghost has walked London's streets for an age, given shape by people's memories. Now someone's put a ceremonial dagger through his chest. But what's the motive? And who - or what - could kill a ghost? When policing London's supernatural underworld, eliminating the impossible is not an option. DI James Quill and his detectives have learnt this the hard way.

The Fall of the House of Cabal: The Johannes Cabal Novels, Book 6

Johannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has come into possession of a vital clue that may lead him to his ultimate goal: a cure for death. The path is vague, however, and certainly treacherous as it takes him into strange territories that, quite literally, no one has ever seen before. The task is too dangerous to venture upon alone, so he must seek assistance - comrades for the coming travails.

The Halloween Tree

On a Halloween night, eight boys are led on an incredible journey into the past by the mysterious “spirit” Moundshroud. Riding a dark autumn wind from ancient Egypt to the land of the Celtic druids, from Mexico to a cathedral in Paris, they will witness the haunting beginnings of the holiday called Halloween.

The Stress of Her Regard

When Michael Crawford discovers his bride brutally murdered in their wedding bed, he is forced to flee not only to prove his innocence but to avoid the deadly embrace of a vampire who has claimed him as her true bridegroom. Joining forces with Byron, Keats, and Shelley in a desperate journey that crisscrosses Europe, Crawford desperately seeks his freedom from this vengeful lover who haunts his dreams and will not rest until she destroys all that he cherishes.

An Unattractive Vampire

After three centuries trapped underground, thousand-year-old Yulric Bile, also known as The Cursed One, The Devil's Apprentice, He Who Worships the Slumbering Horrors, awakens only to find that no one believes he is a vampire. Apparently he's just too ugly. Modern vampires, he soon discovers, are pretty, weak, and, most disturbing of all, good.

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers

On a quiet fall evening in the small, peaceful town of Mill Valley, California, Dr. Miles Bennell discovers an insidious, horrifying plot. Silently, subtly, almost imperceptibly, alien life-forms are taking over the bodies and minds of his neighbors, his friends, his family, the woman he loves, and the world as he knows it.

Jerusalem

Alan Moore channels both the ecstatic visions of William Blake and the theoretical physics of Albert Einstein through the hardscrabble streets and alleys of his hometown of Northampton, UK. In the half a square mile of decay and demolition that was England's Saxon capital, eternity is loitering between the firetrap housing projects. Embedded in the grubby amber of the district's narrative, among its saints, kings, prostitutes, and derelicts, a different kind of human time is happening.

Wolf Hunt 2

George and Lou used to be thugs for hire. Now they're living in a shack in Costa Rica, hiding from the crime lord who wants them dead. Their last job, to deliver him a werewolf in a cage, went...badly. But they can't hide out forever, and when they're finally captured, it seems as if George and Lou's ultimate fate will involve being doused in gasoline and set aflame. Instead, they're given a second chance. There's another werewolf out there. This time, it's Ally, a 14-year-old girl.

The Elementals

After a bizarre and disturbing incident at the funeral of matriarch Marian Savage, the McCray and Savage families look forward to a restful and relaxing summer at Beldame, on Alabama's Gulf Coast, where three Victorian houses loom over the shimmering beach. Two of the houses are habitable, while the third is slowly and mysteriously being buried beneath an enormous dune of blindingly white sand. But though long uninhabited, the third house is not empty. Inside, something deadly lies in wait.

Mycroft Holmes

"When I say, therefore, that [my brother] has better powers of observation than I...I am speaking the exact and literal truth." (Sherlock Holmes). This story occurs when Mycroft, an athletic Cambridge graduate, assists the secretary of State. He becomes embroiled in a mystery in Trinidad based on actual history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a huge Holmesian, seven-foot-two tall, basketball's all-time leading scorer, and a US cultural ambassador. Anna Waterhouse is a professional screenwriter and script consultant.

Lovecraft Country: A Novel

Critically acclaimed cult novelist Matt Ruff makes visceral the terrors of life in Jim Crow America and its lingering effects in this brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination that melds historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror and fantasy.

Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis: The Vampire Chronicles, Book 12

At the novel's center: the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, hero, leader, inspirer, irresistible force, irrepressible spirit, battling (and ultimately reconciling with) a strange otherworldly form that has somehow taken possession of Lestat's undead body and soul. This ancient and mysterious power and unearthly spirit of vampire lore has all the force, history, and insidious reach of the unknowable universe.

The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant

Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort. One fateful night - different from the night he died, which was more inconvenient than fateful - Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos of the parahuman world.

The Wolf's Hour

Michael Gallatin is a British spy with a peculiar talent: the ability to transform himself into a wolf. Although his work in North Africa helped the Allies win the continent in the early days of World War II, he quit the service when a German spy shot his lover in her bed. Now, three years later, the army asks him to end his retirement and parachute into occupied Paris. A mysterious German plan called the Iron Fist threatens the D-Day invasion, and the Nazi in charge is the spy who betrayed Michael’s lover. The werewolf goes to France for king and country, hoping for a chance at bloody vengeance.

The Compleat Crow

To many thousands of listeners world-wide, Titus Crow is the psychic sleuth - the cosmic voyager and investigator - of Brian Lumley's Cthulhu Mythos novels, from The Burrowers Beneath to Elysia. But before The Burrowers and Crow's transition, his exploits were chronicled in a series of short stories and novellas uncollected in the USA, except in limited editions.

Plague Town: An Ashley Parker Novel

Ashley was just trying to get through a tough day when the world turned upside down. A terrifying virus appears, quickly becoming a pandemic that leaves its victims, not dead, but far worse. Attacked by zombies, Ashley discovers that she is a "Wild-Card" - immune to the virus - and she is recruited to fight back and try to control the outbreak.

The Fear: Cthulhu Attacks!, Book 1

For half a billion years, Cthulhu has lain trapped in R'lyeh, dead but dreaming. But now the stars are right, and the Old One is rising. Instant death for hundreds of millions, insanity for many more. And he hasn't even gotten out of the water yet. World governments and a desperate and frightened populace scramble to understand, survive, and ultimately fight back against an enemy so powerful his presence could kill every human on Earth without him even noticing we are here.

Aurora says:"Captivatingly gruesome- a perfect new twist on Lovecratian horror"

The Anubis Gates

When Brendan Doyle is flown from America to London to give a lecture on Samuel Taylor Coleridge, little does he expect that he will soon be traveling through time and meeting the poet himself. But Brendan could do without being stranded penniless in the teeming, thieving London of 1810.

Heaven Sent: Quincy Harker Demon Hunter, Book 5

Quincy Harker is walking on the side of the angels this time. Or at least beside an angel. It's the summer of 2009, and Harker, the immortal magic-wielding nephew of Dracula, has a brand-new guardian angel. Her name is Glory, and she's there to try to keep Harker from getting himself killed. Try is the operative word.

Publisher's Summary

With the versatile voice talent of William Gaminara, acclaimed novelist Kim Newman explores the darkest depths of a reinvented Victorian London. It is 1888, and Queen Victoria has remarried, taking as her new consort the Wallachian Prince infamously known as Count Dracula. Peppered with familiar characters from Victorian history and fiction, the novel tells the story of vampire Geneviève Dieudonné and British spy Charles Beauregard as they strive to solve the mystery of the Ripper murders.

Anno Dracula is a rich and panoramic tale, combining horror, politics, mystery, and romance to create a unique and compelling alternate history.

What the Critics Say

"Kim Newman's Anno Dracula is back in print, and we must celebrate. It was the first mash-up of literature, history and vampires, and now, in a world in which vampires are everywhere, it's still the best, and its bite is just as sharp. Compulsory reading, commentary, and mindgame: glorious." (Neil Gaiman)

"Anno Dracula couldn't be more fun if Bram Stoker had scripted it for Hammer. It's a beautifully constructed Gothic epic that knocks almost every other vampire novel out for the count." (Christopher Fowler)

"Bloody excellent. Kim Newman has exsanguinated the best of fact and fiction and created a vivid vampirous Victorian world uniquely his own. This clever, delicious extravaganza - Hammer horror meets True (Blue) Blood - is just the tonic for the year of a Royal Wedding." (Stephen Volk)

"Anno Dracula is the smart, hip Year Zero of the vampire genre's ongoing revolution." (Paul McAuley)

I purchased this awhile ago and just got around to listening to it. Now, I am kicking myself for waiting so long. This book is not only a brilliant reinvention of the Dracula world but also an insightful reinvention of the Jack the Ripper story. Kim Newman uses language to its ultimate potential to create a rich Victorian environment. Each character has a fullness and depth that adds to the quality of the story without losing its energy flow. The narration is also wonderful. There are quite a few characters in this story, but William Gaminara is able to give them all unique voices. This is a must-read for paranormal fans.

The author did a great job combining historical figures with the prominent characters from Bram Stoker's Dracula (including Stoker himself). If the reader is not very familiar with the story of Dracula or such personages as Queen Victoria, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Jack the Ripper, the book may be less enjoyable.

The narrator was perfection. Don't be put off by the accented narrator in the clip that Audible offers - that's only the short preface.

My only complaint was the ending, which seemed to come suddenly, as if the author was tired of the whole thing. Given the excitement of the denoument, which got all my attention, there were more interesting stories to come. And then it was over.

The premise of this book contained a lot of promise, but there is no real development of the story. Everything just sort of happens, without any real development or, quite frankly, point to it. The constant "name dropping" of the author, inserting both real and fictional characters was over the top. In addition the justification for the changes to a Victorian society and the setting required to even try to make this story work fails to be believable. There are a large number of potential plot lines that begin and then either fade out or are terminated without culminating into anything. The end result is that I have the feeling the author was trying too hard to create something brilliant and never really settled on what, exactly, he was trying to do. Even the central plot of solving the "Jack the Ripper" murders really becomes secondary and fails to really develop into anything overly central to the story. To illustrate this, the characters "solve" the ripper murders and the book goes on for another 40-50 minutes.

The narrator is good and does his best with the material so I'd be willing to listen to other books that he reads, but I'm definitely not going to pursue the sequel to this book, or likely anything else Kim Newman does.

I liked this book, but I'm giving it three stars. Why? Because, while the story was compelling and filled with references to Victorian literature and history reshaped by Dracula, I found it hard to follow. There are just way too many characters to keep track of. I listened to this on my iPhone, so perhaps it's easier to keep straight if you are actually reading the book, but I found myself going back several times trying to figure out which character's POV we were in and who belonged to what name (one character confusingly has two names he swaps back and forth - even in his own thoughts). I don't think it helps that the whole thing is written with a 3rd person omniscient narrator. I would also add that the story starts off kind of slowly. I found my thoughts drifting off frequently for the first hour or so of listening. Again, this may not be a problem if you are actually reading. In conclusion, I will definitely be giving the second installment of the Anno Dracula series a listen. I think the idea has a ton of potential and am hoping it will be seen through in book two.

Great idea for a book, but unfortunately a poorly developed plot. Too much time spent with conflicting female characters. Could have developed better the "parallel history" juxtaposed with great fictional characters. Not sure I'll follow the next books.

I thought Anno would be a nice diversion, but I found myself very enthralled by it. I wasn't expecting the combination of alternate history, vampire lore allusiveness, Jack the Ripper, and Victorian manners. If you have a knowledge of vampire lit you will pick up on the many allusions to famous stories. Sherlockiana, ditto. Ripperology, ditto. Victorian lit, ditto. Famous literary characters, historical figures blend and move together. Very entertaining.

I wanted to like this book so much. First of all the narration was great and It seemed to blend my two favorite genres, historical fiction and fantasy. For me, I found that there were too many characters, some very familiar and some new,but not enough background information. With an alternative history plot I guess I need more world building at the beginning. I found it difficult to get into the story, I kept going back a chapter or two thinking I had missed something. Maybe I'm just not smart enough for this book. I read and listen for relaxation and this book was too much work for me.

Kim Newman's meticulously researched Anno Dracula is a marvel of plotting and a love letter to the fantastical curios of Victorian fiction. While Dracula is the most extensively referenced text, characters created by Conan Doyle, Wells, Haggard, Kipling, Hodgson, Rohmer, Dickens, Wilde, and Shaw are seamlessly blended with historical figures to create a world that, more than any other attempt (e.g. Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentleman) feels like a distillation of the Victorian era, obsessed with its obsessions and more literal than the historical reality. All of that is without mentioning the wealth of vampire fiction that is drawn in. Nearly every historically appropriate vampire from literature, film, television, comic books, and folktales, no matter how trashy or obscure, finds purchase in this narrative--each a wonderfully accurate representation while still feeling like an authentic part of this narrative.

Unlike the almost overwhelming barrage of referential and nostalgia-based entertainment of the present day, the pleasures of arcana are only a small part of the narrative delight. Much like its source material, Anno Dracula is not a novel about ghoulish delight in blood and death but rather a novel about the horrors of everyday compromise. Vampirism, under Newman's disciplined hand, does not supplant the issues of class and race that so stratified Victorian society, rather it enhances them: forcing its characters to confront uncomfortable truths about their values, the source of their comfort, and their ability to find forward momentum in an age of torpor.

The novel is also beautifully melancholy. It eschews the climactic violence of most horror novels for the kind of quiet grief and creeping existential dread that follows in its wake. Newman writes a world where tragedy does not destroy so much as paralyze--a world that would have been intriguingly, perversely familiar to Ruskin, Gibbon, Arnold and other social critics of the age.

In short, in an era where most of our fantastical Victorian sensibilities are linked to the meritocratic anachronism of Steampunk--more interested in the aesthetic trappings of the century than the moral or philosophical concerns--Anno Dracula is a refreshingly authentic bit of Victoriana written as a companion to the great novels of its setting, rather than the cheap thrills of its own age.

With the premise of Count Dracula being married to Queen Victoria, and many other Victorian characters, real and fictional being present, I was expecting Anno Dracula to have some humour about it. Actually, it's not a funny book, and it doesn't need to be, because it's a really entertaining gothic crime mystery. The main story revolves around the pursuit of 'Jack the Ripper', with subplots revolving around relationships between the vampires and the 'warm', set in a period of change as England gets used to accepting vampires into high society, even preferring them, and making everyday decisions over whether to 'change' to get ahead in life - after all, immortality, acute senses and impressive strength can be useful.

The dark setting of Victorian London is brilliantly depicted, as are the really graphic accounts of the murders, and visceral actions of the vampires. All of this gives a wonderful filmic quality, where the vivid imagery is quite horrible, and would be a challenge for the best special effects departments. The cameos from names you recognise serve to add colour, and allow you a rye smile as names like Oscar Wilde, Jekyll and Hyde, Dr Moreau and even Bram Stoker are all given a context. Brilliantly narrated by William Gaminara, who really captured the characterisation of upper class London.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Sandgrounder

Midlands UK

2/3/12

Overall

"Chilling, Thrilling and Blood-Spilling!"

Think you know about Jack the Ripper? Kim Newman in his inimitable way weaves the dark tales of Dracula and London's first serial killer into a strange alternative thread of reality that sees the undead as social superiors, Queen Victoria married to the infamous Count and Fu Manchu in charge of the vicious underbelly of the capital's crime. Exquisite, erotic and enthralling this macabre tale is brilliantly read by William Gaminara and stands out as an unusual, shadowy and occasionally, horrifying gem. Highly recommended and hope to see the sequels added soon!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

elly gausden

London, United Kingdom

5/15/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great story, annoying narrator"

The story is great, if slightly rambling, but the whole thing is somewhat ruined by the reader not being able to pronounce one of the main character's name. I spent much of the book wanting to yell 'it's pronounced Jen-uh-veeve you utter cretin'. Still, that aside it was a good book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Adam

Haywards Heath, UK

4/17/13

Overall

"Anno Dracula"

I read this book many years ago and i must say i enjoyed it even more with William ( silent witness) Gaminara narration.

It's an inventive slant on the Victorian period with many cameos from villians in that era. I so hope someone will make this into a mini series or better yet a film.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Sara

Ballyclare, United Kingdom

1/18/12

Overall

"Very enjoyable"

I bought this after Professor Moriarty and the Hound of the Durbervilles, which was excellent.
I didnt enjoy this one just as much but it is still very good and well worth the credit.
The way the story is woven in with history and fictional characters from different stories is very skillful and I would recommend this author highly.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Lee

2/25/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Amazing ! It draws you in with familiar characters"

Great book full of familiar faces in unfamiliar situations. I just love it so much !

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Stephen Amos

8/18/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Dracula in London"

Question: What if Van Helsing failed in his attempt to kill Count Dracula? What if the count managed to take control of the English Monarchy and Government?

This is the starting block for Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula, a very good alternative history featuring a host of real and fictional Victorian characters and framed around the Jack the Ripper killings. It is very well written, close to the style of the day without becoming too heavy for a modern reader. Initially I wasn’t convinced by William Gaminara’s delivery but by the end of the book I was hooked.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

AnotherReader

UK

3/19/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Thoroughly enjoyable alternative history romp"

For the most part a deftly told story, well written and performed with a whole raft of cultural references. Yes, it gets a bit silly sometimes - occasionally intensely so - but then it's a vampire story and mainly impressively well done.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Karlis

GB

9/18/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Solid Enjoyable Fantasy Horror"

I do enjoy a book that gives a good feel for the setting and world within which it occurs and this book does that.The idea behind the story is great to begin with but don't expect a classic horror style for this book, it is very much a modern style of story despite it being set in the past.The characters are likable and interesting, the amount of detail about supporting characters is enough without being too much and although it does seem to lose its focus towards the end it is well thought out and well structured to deliver an enjoyable story in an interesting reimagining of the world.The narration was very good, the accents fine and the pacing of the reading suited the situation therefore it is an easy to listen to solid recording of the book.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Cosima

SOUTH CADBURY, United Kingdom

8/29/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"History Meets Hammer Horror With A Modern Twist"

No idea what to expect when I chose this book, but was not disappointed.There are so many historic re-writes and characters brought into a strange and often disturbing world.I have since bought the next 2 in the series.They kind of remind of the best of the Hammer Horror films, with a very modern, slock horror twist on them. In places perverse an uncomfortable and in others pure horrific fiction.The narration is fantastic.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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